Tara Cain

As home to the premier F5, the Maryland Twisters are no strangers to high expectations. Pressure from industry leaders, judges and fans to “keep delivering and over-delivering” can be intense, but gym owner Tara Cain insists that championship titles (of which they have many) are not the end goal for a Twister—it’s having fun.

“At the end of the day, the kids sacrifice two to three days a week at practices, all year long, because they love what they do,” says Cain. So when competition time arrives, she advises her athletes to “stop worrying about the judges” and simply enjoy the moment they’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Several such moments arrived this year at The Cheerleading Worlds, where the Twisters competed on five paid bids and saw their senior medium teams—the flagship F5 and Reign—nab Bronze medals.

It’s another stellar win in Twister history, one punctuated with the kind of success that grows a gym from 50 athletes in 1998 to more than 500 today. Yet Cain says their winning reputation isn’t what drives athletes to become a Twister. Instead, she credits a great staff, “families that believe in [the] system” and a commitment to having “hard conversations” about athlete progression and team placement “before they become an issue.”

Equally important to the big picture has been building brand recognition. In 2007, a parent opened Cain’s eyes to the tremendous value of brand investment. A logo and social media presence were developed and the phrase “repetition leads to retention” embraced, the cumulative effect launching Maryland Twisters into an international spotlight.

Of course, the Twisters are not without challenges. The biggest, Cain asserts, is one that the industry faces as a whole: talent retention. Minimal work hours (roughly six to nine per coach per week) plus limited pay scale (intended to keep athlete costs down) lead many top coaches to work multiple jobs or leave the industry entirely to pursue full-time careers or, as they grow older, start a family. “It’s hard to find that person who is dedicated, loyal and loves cheer, but is willing to put in the nine hours [weekly] for little pay,” says Cain.

This is the type of straight talk Cain is known for, a quality that’s led her to question cheer status quo time and again. Questions like the one she posed to GK Elite in 2008: Why are cheerleaders still wearing polyester? The material, Cain said, proved so constricting that “the fabric was actually like rubber bands around certain parts of [the athletes’] biceps.” The conversation intrigued GK Elite, and the collaboration resulted in an innovative uniform made of “super-stretch fabric” that granted athletes a fuller range of motion while redefining industry standards in the process.

Last year, Cain was at the forefront of another industry leap—helming the NACCC judging committee and leading the charge towards a unified scoring system. The system, scheduled to see its first full implementation at The Cheerleading Worlds 2015, is, according to Cain, “a great change for the industry.”

So what’s next for the Maryland Twisters? Cain’s keeping her options open but admits more growth is on the horizon. “I would love to launch other sports programs. Maybe I’ll just get a bigger building and be more of a sports complex, but cheerleading will always be my first love,” Cain muses.

In our “Owner’s Manual” column, we ask gym owners to take us “under the hood” and give us their secrets to what keeps their gyms running so smoothly. Find out how Tara Cain puts her own “twist” on attracting athletes below:

As a business owner, I’m not just looking at filling up my teams—I’m also generating business for camps and classes. Unlike many all-star gyms, we welcome athletes from everywhere to participate in our classes, private lessons and/or camps. You do not have to be a Twister to benefit from our training. Professional, high school, recreation & other all-star athletes are a part of our training curriculum. We really want everyone in the cheer arena to feel we are the primary training facility in Maryland; so far, that has worked to our benefit. Some of our classes include stunt class, flyer flexibility, tumbling classes by level, trampoline class and open gym.

In previous years, before we grew so big, we focused on attracting new athletes with many creative plans. We would go to various fairs and places our audience would be and perform or set up a booth to generate awareness about all-star cheerleading. (Some people still don’t even know what it is here in Maryland.) We also provided a referral fee as an incentive during certain times of the year. At one time, we also had a direct mail piece to everyone who has ever walked in the doors—once around tryout season to promote tryouts and another at the beginning of the year to create awareness of summer camps. It was sent to anyone who has ever taken a class or attended at camp at Maryland Twisters. Those are the people you’re actually targeting, as they’ve already been to your gym and met the staff.

We have partnered with our county recreation programs to “train the trainers” on stunt technique, safety, and other types of cheer training. Some of those programs have also rented our floor space for their teams as they prepare for county competitions. We have explained to our rec friends that we are not a threat. All-Star isn’t for everyone—but cheerleading and gymnastics is. We would like to continue to strengthen our sport throughout Maryland with no attempt to recruit. Inevitably, a few of their more serious athletes may transition to our all-star program, but that is few. [We want] those coaches to know we are not doing it for our team gain; we are really there to help & be a resource to them as well.

In addition to our teams and class business, we also have developed a dance program that houses two competitive hip-hop teams. That has also extended our business into dance classes (tap, ballet, hip hop, jazz, etc). We are still growing that division, but it has certainly attracted kids who are not at all interested in cheer or gymnastics. It’s another great avenue for those all-star athletes who are ready to “retire” and transition into something less demanding.

We pride ourselves on NOT recruiting all-star athletes at other gyms during events or competitions. If a parent or athlete approaches us, that is one thing. But we don’t proactively seek them out.

Creating a certain atmosphere for walk-ins can also be a good recruiting tool. We have three viewing areas for parents and articles written about us up in the lobby, along with a display of our Worlds trophies. The employees in the front office are trained to create the right first impression. Having the right staff in place will also attract families to not only feel welcome, but stay within our Twisters family for the long-term.